Patients and their families who reported allegations of abuse at a chain of mental health units did not even receive responses from the regulator and the NHS, The Independent can reveal.
An investigation by The Independent and Sky News last month exposed how “systemic abuse” went unchecked at hospitals run by The Huntercombe Group over a number of years.
Now more patients have come forward – bringing the total number of cases past 50 – and shown how they tried to raise the alarm to the health service and Care Quality Commission, but say they were ignored while abuse continued.
It can also be revealed that police are investigating the alleged rape of a child by a staff member in 2019. A report was made to Thames Valley police last month.
The Huntercombe Group is now facing legal claims from nine patients, dating back as far as 2003, who were treated at the Maidenhead hospital, now called Taplow Manor, in Berkshire. Allegations include using sedative medication as a form of control, excessive restraint, and inappropriate force used in relation to tube feeding. There are also further allegations of sexual abuse.
Mark McGhee, of Hutcheon Law, which is representing the patients, said: “With a number of clients. We have allegations of grooming and inappropriate touching, in relation to when restraint was being applied by males because all of the clients are female.
“It’s systemic. It’s over a very long period of time and what concerns me isn’t just the hospital itself, but why nothing was done by some of the other agencies who were supposed to be monitoring what was going on. Why nothing was done to try to prevent some of this.
Have you been affected by these issues? Contact rebecca.thomas@independent.co.uk
“The clients feel very let down by the bodies that placed their children at this hospital. They feel as though they didn’t properly monitor or supervise what was going on. We know that they have relatively recently been discussions and reviews with CQC with NHS England and others. Yet, despite all of that, the families have not been able to see or being provided with any action plan or what’s been going on.”
The Department for Health and Social Care said the fresh allegations were “deeply concerning” but could not confirm any action in response.
Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour’s shadow mental health secretary, is calling for a national review of mental health services. She said the allegations against The Huntercombe Group “demonstrate the extent of the crisis at the heart of inpatient mental health units”.
The Independent has seen multiple emails from parents sent to the CQC, local NHS trusts and NHS England, between 2018 and 2022, raising concerns about children’s care at the Maidenhead hospital, to which families say they received no response.
In one email to the CQC, while an inspection was being carried out in June 2019, a parent warned her daughter had been able to tie a ligature multiple times when staff were supposed to be watching her, but said her child did not feet comfortable raising her concerns over safeguarding directly to inspectors in front of other patients. The mother received no response, and the unit was rated “good” by the watchdog.
Taplow Manor and Ivetsey Bank, near Stafford, have been inspected by the CQC 11 times since 2014. Though these inspections are unannounced, multiple patients said staffing numbers had been temporarily increased ahead of the visits.
Mae, who was admitted to Maidenhead in 2018, said: “Everything would be made out to be a lot better care than it was during the inspections, staff would speak to us in much more humane and ‘nice’ way, positive quotes would be written on the whiteboard and medication would be at the correct times. Meal support would be increased despite none of this happening usually.
They just told me that the more I resisted, the harder they would do it
A patient who was in the Maidenhead unit during an inspection in June this year, when its rating was upgraded from “inadequate” to “requires improvement”, said staff would cover damage on the walls with pictures and bring in new furniture.
Although both hospitals were rated “good” until 2018, allegations from 14 patients date from before that point.
The CQC told The Independent it would be carrying out a review of the group’s leadership and organisation operations in March, in response to the allegations of poor care. The regulator said that, while it did not directly respond to all complaints, it took them into account for inspection findings.
Our investigation last month revealed that the CQC had received more than 700 whistleblowing and safeguarding reports over Huntercombe units, including several “sexual safety” concerns.
Mae was admitted to the Maidenhead unit in 2018
I was then left in my bedroom because I was told I was being dramatic
